02/19/08:
AWAY FROM HER (Sarah Polley, 2006) 
I’m not usually one to watch films dealing with diseases of any type – believing them to be maudlin, manipulative and even somewhat morbid – much less mental illness, but since this is expected to earn Julie Christie another Oscar (which would probably make it the longest gap between the first and second win), I decided to check it out in time for the upcoming awards ceremony.
Christie’s character has been struck with the debilitating Alzheimer’s Disease but, thankfully, she – or, more precisely, writer-director Polley (a likeable actress in her own right, though not appearing here herself) – doesn’t bemoan her fate; rather, she accepts it with grace and even treats the condition with mild humor (which is the way these things should be approached but, I guess, one has to really be going through them himself to really know). Incidentally, I find extremely silly and unwarranted the recent warning by some hysterical group when, in her acceptance speech at the SAG awards, Christie joked that if she forgot the name of anyone it’s because she was still in character!
The film is undeniably moving as we see the aging heroine degenerating to the point that she can’t even recognize her own devoted husband (Gordon Pinsent) and even attaches herself to a fellow patient (Michael Murphy) at the clinic to which she’s eventually admitted. Ironically, considering the accolades showered upon Christie, I feel that it’s Pinsent who’s the real protagonist here: quietly despairing yet brave in coping with the heartbreaking situation (unsurprisingly, he strikes up a friendship with Murphy’s own wife – played by Olympia Dukakis). On the other hand, the viewpoint of the younger generation (obligatory in our zealously-PC world) is present here – though in a somewhat idealistic manner, if you ask me – via a teenager who chats with Pinsent during one of his visits to the clinic (and, in a deleted sequence, is revealed to be a neighbor of Dukakis and occasionally takes care of Murphy for her).
Actually, this isn’t the kind of film one would expect an emerging young director to make – particularly since it has aspirations of being a Bergman-like chamber drama which, while fairly compelling and austere (aided with respect to the latter by the snowy Canadian setting), clearly lacks the necessary depth which a master craftsman would otherwise bring to such material.
02/20/08:
COOL WORLD (Ralph Bakshi, 1992)
To begin with, I’ll admit that I haven’t been as taken with Bakshi’s adult animated films (of which I’ve now watched six) as I had anticipated myself – but this mix of live-action and cartoon is easily the most unsatisfying of the lot! Striving to recapture the magic of WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988), it doesn’t really have the necessary in terms of plot (despite the generous length of 102 minutes) – whereas the animation too often resorts to pointless zaniness in the style of (but a long way from) Tex Avery!
Gabriel Byrne is a cartoonist who gets thrown into the world of his own creation (
a` la the equally dispiriting BRENDA STARR [1989]); his star character – Holly Would(!) – is, unsurprisingly, a voluptuous nymphomaniac (modeled after Kim Basinger, who also plays her in live-action form). Brad Pitt is another human (called “Noids”) who has made the transition to “Cool World” and is free to roam among the cartoon characters (“Doodles”): actually, he represents the law over there and is hostile to any intruder from the ‘other side’ – much less the man who invented it all and who, he believes, wants to bring their ‘way of life’ to an end!; he’s also involved with a ‘local’ girl and, at the end, joins their ranks himself.
As I said, the narrative doesn’t amount to much: apart from relentless disco dancing and her attempts to bed Byrne, Holly goes looking for a Doodle scientist – who has crossed over to the world of the Noids (acquiring the nickname “Vegas Vinnie” in the process) – in the hope that she can retain her human appearance. Incidentally, the effect starts to wear off just as she’s turning audiences’ heads at a casino with her rendition of Marilyn Monroe’s “Let’s Make Love”!; Basinger is ideal casting here but seems somehow uncomfortable within this hybrid environment, and the same is true of her co-stars. Ultimately, while not always outstanding, Bakshi’s other films – and not just the more ambitious stuff such as THE LORD OF THE RINGS (1978) and AMERICAN POP (1981) – are clearly superior.
02/18/08-02/21/08:
QUATERMASS (TV) [Episodes 1-4] (Piers Haggard, 1979)
I viewed this as part of a two-film retrospective of John Mills titles (the other being THE SINGER NOT THE SONG [1961]) to commemorate the centenary of his birth on the 22nd of February. Incidentally, I’d purchased the R4 DVD edition – and two other Nigel Kneale-scripted made-for-TV efforts, THE YEAR OF THE SEX OLYMPICS (1968) and BEASTS (1976) – following the death last year of that noted sci-fi literary figure, one of my favorite exponents of the genre, but hadn’t yet gotten around to watching it until now!
Of course, this is the fourth (and last) of Kneale’s serials revolving around Professor Bernard Quatermass – submitting yet another scary (but totally persuasive) scenario to challenge our established notions of humanity, the world and beyond. Interestingly, the protagonist was played by a different actor each time: here, Mills turns in a typically excellent (albeit low-key) performance. However, the muddled apocalyptic plot – in which space missions go horribly wrong, Britain is reduced to a wasteland, a mass of fanatical but deluded youth is “harvested” (read exterminated), senior citizens are forced to literally live underground, etc. – is somehow insufficient for the film’s 200-minute length; this eventually gives rise to a fair bit of repetitiveness throughout (particularly with respect to the gibberish chants of the Planet People).
The serial does culminate in an intense and moving finale in which Quatermass meets up with his missing granddaughter, who has joined the ranks of the Planet People, just as he’s set to fire a nuclear missile at the death ray from outer space; about to perish himself (from a heart attack!), it’s she who guides his movements in saving the world. One of the definite assets here is the effectively moody synthesizer score; besides, the supporting cast is led by Simon MacCorkindale (from JAWS 3-D [1983] and the MANIMAL [1983] TV series) – who’s good in his role of the young scientist aiding Quatermass understand the extraterrestrial phenomenon; a histrionic Barbara Kellerman appears as his wife, who soon falls victim to the devastation; Margaret Tyzack (2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY [1968]), Brenda Fricker (future Oscar winner for MY LEFT FOOT [1989]) and actress/rocker Toyah Willcox also appear.
While not up to Kneale’s earlier QUATERMASS scripts in the long run, this is still quite good – with the 20-year gap since that character’s last TV appearance enabling a far smoother production. In fact, there was no need to adapt it for the cinema as Hammer had done with the first three; rather, the serial was probably made with this in mind (director Haggard had made another cult-based supernatural horror piece – THE BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW [1971]) and subsequently got reduced to about half its length for theatrical exhibition. Originally shot in Panavision, the four episodes are however presented here open-matte so as to preserve the standard TV format; the Australian 3-Disc Set I purchased, then, thoughtfully includes both versions.
02/21/08:
PUMPKINHEAD (Stan Winston, 1988) 
This is another popular horror outing of the 1980s; it’s not too bad, and actually manages a reasonable atmosphere throughout. Even so, the design of the titular creature is rather disappointing – given that it’s just another ALIEN (1979) clone – but admittedly its rampage is creepily effective. Lance Henriksen stars as a man whose son is killed in a motoring accident and, having witnessed an attack by Pumpkinhead as a child – this particular boogeyman is usually conjured up for purposes of revenge – he now makes it go after the group of teens (ex-Superman Jeff East among them) involved in the boy’s death. Interestingly, Henriksen is able to ‘feel’ the creature’s wrath (and, eventually, has second thoughts about the request he made to the witch who revived it); however, the final suggestion that it may have been him all along is rather baffling – since, as I said, Henriksen winds up confronting the monster himself! Director Winston is best-known as a special effects wizard, though the film isn’t particularly gory. As is the norm for such “boogeyman” fare, it was later followed by a host of obscure sequels.